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whaaaley/system-changes.md

Created December 21, 2025 16:18
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Debian system configuration backup before Trixie upgrade - 2025-12-21
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system-changes.md

System Changes

Scripts Created in ~/.local/bin/

  • logout - i3 logout script (i3-msg exit) (~/.local/bin/logout)
  • audio-switcher - Rofi-based audio output device switcher using pactl (~/.local/bin/audio-switcher)
  • kill-app - Rofi-based GUI application killer (uses wmctrl via nix-shell for fast window detection) (~/.local/bin/kill-app)
  • wallpaper-picker - Rofi-based wallpaper selector using feh (~/.local/bin/wallpaper-picker)
  • gpick-toggle - Smart gpick launcher with optimized scratchpad behavior (~/.local/bin/gpick-toggle)
    • Toggles scratchpad visibility for instant show/hide
    • Prevents duplicate instances
    • Auto-launches on first keypress with optimized polling (1.5s initial delay, 50ms poll interval)
    • Auto-shows from scratchpad after launch (~1.6s total launch time)
    • Resizes window to 960x480 and centers it on screen
    • Launches via nix-shell with dark theme (GTK_THEME=Adwaita:dark)
  • sensor-monitor - System resource monitoring script (~/.local/bin/sensor-monitor)
    • Uses nix-shell with btop for interactive system monitoring
    • Shows CPU, memory, disk, network, and processes with graphs
  • gpu-monitor - NVIDIA GPU monitoring script (~/.local/bin/gpu-monitor)
    • Uses watch + nvidia-smi to display GPU temperature, usage, memory, and stats
    • Auto-refreshes every second in terminal window
    • Note: Tested nvitop and gpustat but both had NVML library conflicts with system NVIDIA drivers

Desktop Files Created/Modified in ~/.local/share/applications/

Naming Convention: All desktop files follow a standardized naming pattern:

  • (Script) - Custom bash scripts in ~/.local/bin/
  • (Nix) - Applications launched via nix-shell
  • (Native) - Applications installed via apt or native installers
  • (Distrobox) - Applications running in distrobox containers

Metadata Standards: All desktop files include:

  • Version=1.0 - Desktop Entry Specification version
  • GenericName - Category description (e.g., "System Monitor", "Color Picker")
  • Keywords - Searchable terms for dmenu/rofi (semicolon-separated)
  • Comment - Brief description of functionality

Scripts

  • logout.desktop - Logout (Script) - Log out of i3 session
  • audio-switcher.desktop - Audio Output Switcher (Script) - Switch between audio devices
  • kill-app.desktop - Kill Application (Script) - Kill running GUI applications
  • wallpaper-picker.desktop - Wallpaper Picker (Script) - Choose wallpaper from collection
  • gpick.desktop - Gpick (Script) - Color picker with scratchpad toggle
    • Optimized launch: ~1.6 seconds from keypress to visible
    • Single keypress toggle (Super+Shift+C)
    • Window: 960x480, centered on screen
    • Subsequent toggles: instant (window stays in scratchpad)
  • sensor-monitor.desktop - Sensor Monitor (Script) - Monitor system resources with btop
  • gpu-monitor.desktop - GPU Monitor (Script) - Monitor NVIDIA GPU with nvidia-smi

Nix Applications

  • gedit-nix.desktop - gedit (Nix) - Text editor with dark mode
  • nautilus-nix.desktop - Nautilus (Nix) - File manager with dark mode
  • discord-nix.desktop - Discord (Nix) - Voice and text chat
  • chatterino2-nix.desktop - Chatterino 2 (Nix) - Twitch chat client
  • screenkey.desktop - Screenkey (Nix) - Keyboard visualizer
  • opencode.desktop - OpenCode (Nix) - AI-powered code editor
  • vlc-nix.desktop - VLC Media Player (Nix) - Video and media player
  • mpv-nix.desktop - mpv (Nix) - Lightweight video player (handles videos + animated GIFs)
    • Set as default for GIF files (xdg-mime default mpv-nix.desktop image/gif)
  • feh-nix.desktop - feh (Nix) - Fast image viewer for static images

Native Applications

  • chromium.desktop - Chromium Web Browser (Native) - Modified with dark mode flags (--force-dark-mode --enable-features=WebUIDarkMode)
  • org.flameshot.Flameshot.desktop - Flameshot (Native) - Screenshot tool (launches GUI directly)
  • dev.zed.Zed.desktop - Zed (Native) - Code editor (v0.217.3)

Configuration Files Modified

Display & Window Manager

  • ~/.config/i3/config - i3 window manager configuration

    • Font: IBM Plex Mono 10
    • Display: USB-C-0 at 5120x2160 @ 165.06Hz, DPI 96
    • Wallpaper: feh with ~/.fehbg or fallback wallpaper
    • Startup applications: polybar, nm-applet, xss-lock
    • Screensaver/DPMS disabled: xset s off dpms 0 0 0 -dpms (sets timeouts to 0 and disables DPMS to prevent screen from sleeping)
    • Keybindings:
      • Super+Shift+S → flameshot (launches org.flameshot.Flameshot.desktop)
      • Super+Shift+C → gpick (color picker)
      • Ctrl+H → Previous tab (global, all apps)
      • Ctrl+L → Next tab (global, all apps)
      • Ctrl+Shift+H → Move tab left (global, all apps)
      • Ctrl+Shift+L → Move tab right (global, all apps)
      • Mod+Space → rofi drun
      • Mod+Tab → rofi window switcher
      • Mod+Right/Left → workspace next/prev
      • Mod+Shift+Right/Left → move container and follow to next/prev workspace
      • Mod+minus → scratchpad show
      • Mod+Shift+minus → move to scratchpad
      • Mod+Shift+R → restart i3
    • Gaps: 12px inner, 3px top
    • Borders: 2px pixel borders (no titlebar)
    • Border colors:
      • Focused: #5C9CF5 (Dark Sky Blue)
      • Focused inactive: #282A2E
      • Unfocused: #282A2E
      • Background: #000000
    • Window rules:
      • gpick: floating enabled, automatically moves to scratchpad on launch
      • Nautilus (Org.gnome.Nautilus): floating enabled, automatically moves to scratchpad on launch

  • ~/.config/polybar/config.ini - Status bar configuration

    • Right modules include: filesystem, pulseaudio, xkeyboard, memory, cpu, temperature-cpu, temperature-gpu, wlan, eth, date
    • Temperature monitoring:
      • temperature-cpu module: internal/temperature using thermal_zone0, updates every 2s, warning threshold 80°C
      • temperature-gpu module: custom/script using nvidia-smi, updates every 2s, displays GPU temperature
    • GPU monitoring history: Tested during video playback, temps peaked at 60°C (well within safe range of 88°C)

Note: Picom compositor was removed after testing. It was found to be unnecessary because:

  • Rounded corners showed visual artifacts (app content wasn't rounded, only window frame)

  • Didn't fix cursor rendering issues

  • Background color rendering issues with GLX backend

  • User determined compositor features weren't needed for their minimal setup

  • ~/.config/rofi/config.rasi - Application launcher theming

    • Theme: Arc-Dark
    • Font: IBM Plex Mono 14
    • Modes: window, run, drun
    • Icons: disabled
    • Window width: 960px

Terminal & Shell

  • ~/.tmux.conf - Tmux configuration

    • Default terminal: tmux-256color
    • RGB color support: terminal-features ",*:RGB"
    • Mouse support enabled
    • Status bar at top
    • Allow passthrough enabled
    • Status bar background: #282A2E

  • ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.yml - Terminal emulator config

    • Font: IBM Plex Mono (Regular, Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
    • Font offset: x=0, y=3
    • Environment: TERM=xterm-256color, WINIT_X11_SCALE_FACTOR=1.0
    • Colors: Primary background #1a1c1f (merged from OpenCode #0a0a0a and Zed #282c33), foreground #ffffff

  • ~/.config/starship.toml - Shell prompt configuration

    • Using plain-text-symbols preset (no emojis, plain text only)

X11 & Display

  • ~/.Xresources - X resources
    • Cursor theme: Breeze6
    • Cursor size: 36

Theme & Appearance

  • ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini - GTK3 dark theme preference
  • ~/.config/gtk-4.0/settings.ini - GTK4 dark theme preference

Applications

  • ~/.local/share/chatterino/Settings/settings.json - Chatterino settings
  • ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json - OpenCode configuration
  • ~/.local/zed.app/ - Zed editor installation (v0.217.3)
    • Installed via official install script from zed.dev
    • Binary at ~/.local/bin/zed
    • Works with NVIDIA proprietary drivers on X11 (direct install required, nix-shell version had GPU initialization issues)

Display Settings

  • Primary monitor: DP-4 at 3440x1440 resolution
  • Configured via xrandr in i3 config

Audio Configuration

  • PulseAudio management via pactl
  • Custom audio switcher script for easy output device switching

Cursor Theme

  • Breeze6 cursor theme (size 36)
  • Configured in .Xresources
  • Environment variables set in discord-wrapper

Installed Software

  • Flameshot - Screenshot tool (installed via apt, v12.1.0)
  • Zed Editor - Code editor (installed via official installer, v0.217.3)
    • Replaced VS Code (removed)
  • Docker CE - Container engine (installed via Docker's official repository, v29.1.3)
    • Modern Docker Engine with Compose v2 plugin (v5.0.0)
    • Repository: https://download.docker.com/linux/debian
    • Installed packages: docker-ce, docker-ce-cli, containerd.io, docker-buildx-plugin, docker-compose-plugin
    • Provides docker command and docker compose subcommand (v2, no hyphen)
    • User added to docker group for non-root access
    • Old docker.io (v20.10.24) removed and purged
    • Service runs automatically on boot
  • Podman - Container engine (installed via apt, v4.3.1)
    • Rootless container runtime, Docker-compatible
    • Use podman command directly
    • Runs alongside Docker CE (different binaries: docker vs podman)
  • Distrobox - Container management (installed via apt, v1.4.2.1)
  • debian-goodies - Debian system utilities (installed via apt, v0.88.1)
    • Provides dpigs (show largest packages), popbugs, which-pkg-broke, etc.
    • Note: deborphan is a separate package if needed for orphaned package detection
  • xdotool - X11 automation tool (installed via apt)
    • Used for global tab navigation keybindings (Ctrl+H/L)
    • ~6ms latency (3ms xdotool + 3ms i3 overhead)

System Maintenance

Package Cleanup Routine

Regular cleanup commands to maintain a clean system:

# Remove unneeded packages
sudo apt autoremove

# Purge config leftovers from removed packages
sudo apt purge $(dpkg -l | grep "^rc" | awk '{print $2}')

# Clean package cache (if disk space is a concern)
sudo apt clean

# Show largest installed packages
dpigs -H

# Check current kernel version
uname -r

# List all installed kernels
dpkg -l | grep "^ii" | grep linux-image

Understanding Package States

  • ii = Installed and working
  • rc = Removed but Config files remain (safe to purge)
  • pn = Purged, nothing left

Notes

  • Keep only current kernel (currently 6.1.0-41-amd64), remove old ones to save ~400MB per old kernel
  • Always check dpkg -l | grep "^rc" after removing packages
  • User cache at ~/.cache/ can grow large (currently ~2.3GB) - not managed by apt
  • Desktop file utilities: desktop-file-utils package is not required for i3+rofi (reads .desktop files directly)

Hardware & Diagnostics

GPU Information

  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (8GB VRAM)
  • Driver: NVIDIA 535.247.01 (proprietary)
  • Normal operating temps: 50-60°C during video playback (safe range up to 88°C)
  • Power usage: 30-64W typical (245W max)
  • Known issue: Occasional "Xid 79: GPU has fallen off the bus" error
    • Not thermal-related (temps are normal)
    • Likely driver or PCIe communication bug
    • Does not occur in Windows

Monitoring Tools

  • Polybar shows real-time CPU and GPU temps in status bar
  • sensor-monitor script for detailed system monitoring (btop)
  • gpu-monitor script for GPU stats (nvidia-smi)
  • Tested nvitop and gpustat but incompatible due to NVML library conflicts with system NVIDIA drivers
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